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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24199261">Guide You Home</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/blank_Ace/pseuds/blank_Ace'>blank_Ace</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Beetlejuice - All Media Types, Beetlejuice - Perfect/Brown &amp; King</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Abandonment Issues, Beetlejuice Needs a Hug, Canon-Typical Violence, Exorcisms, F/M, Found Family, Hurt/Comfort, Not Canon Compliant, Swearing, aka I get my grubby little hands all over the script of the musical, and rewrite the ending, because I wanted some more Angst, musical verse, not beetlebabes</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-03 01:46:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>13,606</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24199261</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/blank_Ace/pseuds/blank_Ace</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p><i>“Beej there you are! You gotta come down with us. Dad is back and he brought some weird dude in a leather jacket. We really don’t have a lot of time and could need your help-”</i><br/>Lydia wasn’t even halfway through the window before she started rambling.</p><p> </p><p>  <i>“Oh so it’s like that, huh?” the demon growled, rounding on her and making the teen freeze mid step, “‘We could need your help’? So I’m useful to you again but you drop me like a hot potato the second you decide you don’t need me anymore. Is that it, kid?”</i></p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Or what if Charles and Dalia had brought an actual exorcist instead of Otho?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adam Maitland/Barbara Maitland, Beetlejuice &amp; Lydia Deetz, Charles Deetz/Delia Deetz</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>138</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Have this love child of my current hyper fixation and the ongoing quarantine. This fic starts after "That Beautiful Sound" and diverges from canon, mainly because I thought it might be fun to explore a few "what if's". </p><p>What if Charles and Delia brought an actual exorcist with him? What if Beetlejuice had never thought of life being the only way out of his loneliness, thus never getting the idea for the green-card marriage? What if people actually talked about their problems instead of immediately trying to murder everyone?</p><p>Big thanks to Khoshek who beta'd the first few chapters for me!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p>“I thought we were pals.”</p><p> </p><p>“What are you talking about? I’m gonna find my mom!”</p><p> </p><p>And with that she was gone, disappearing up the stairs leading to the attic. Dread settled in Beetlejuice’s stomach. For a moment, all he and his clones could do was stare after her in disbelief.</p><p> </p><p>He was alone. Again.</p><p> </p><p>His shoulders slumped as he shook his head, a bitter chuckle forcing itself out of his throat.</p><p> </p><p>“Can you believe it? After all I’ve done for her?”</p><p> </p><p>His clones turned towards him, mirroring his defeated posture. He should’ve seen it coming, really. Of course it would end like this. It <em> always </em> ended like this. He’d get his hopes up, desperate for someone, <em> anyone </em> to see and acknowledge him after centuries of loneliness until he was left in the dirt without a second thought once he had outlived his usefulness.</p><p> </p><p>He had thought things would be different this time. Sure, the whole teaching the sexy ghost couple upstairs how to scare and make him corporal hadn’t really worked out the way he wanted it to but he got there in the end. Here he was, summoned and visible, everything he thought he ever wanted yet he felt lonelier than he had felt in years, decades, centuries even.  Trapped in a house with people who either wanted him gone, feared him or even hated him. Breathers being afraid of him had never been a problem before; on the contrary, he loved being feared. Scaring the visitors of the Maitland-Deetz house had been fun. This felt different.</p><p> </p><p>Lydia wasn’t afraid of him like the Maitlands were at first. The little gothy teen simply didn’t care for him and that <em> hurt </em>. God/Satan, he must’ve grown soft because it hurt more than he ever thought possible. </p><p> </p><p>The demon let out a weary sigh. Emotions were stupid. Now that he was corporal, they seemed to be stronger. He was always able to feel emotions, but not like this. The dull feelings he had felt as a cused, born-dead demon were nothing compared to the cold inside his chest. </p><p> </p><p>It was his own fault for hoping to actually <em> befriend </em> a breather. With a wave of his hand his clones disappeared in a puff of smoke.  Looking at the transformed living room with its striped new furniture made the coiling, heavy feeling in his chest heavier. He needed some air. Figuratively.  He needed space. </p><p> </p><p>Not like anyone would miss his presence anyway, right?</p><p> </p><p>And with a snap of his fingers, he too disappeared.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Without bothering to knock Lydia flung the door to the attic open with a loud bang, startling the ghost couple inside who had been arguing about … chopping someone's head off? What?</p><p> </p><p>“Who are we decapitating?” </p><p> </p><p>Barbara was the first to recover from her post-mortem heart attack.</p><p>“Beetlejuice,” she exclaimed, raising her fist to further show her determination. The frown on her face deepened.</p><p> </p><p>Lydia couldn’t fight the smile as she shook her head. These supernatural beings were really growing on her.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh you should, he would love that!” </p><p>Her smile grew to a genuine grin at the twin groans she received in return.</p><p> </p><p>“Hate is a strong word,” Adam seethed, “But I do not like that guy!”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, I know he’s a monster but he is my monster,” the teen sing-songed nonchalantly as she made her way into the room. “But that’s not why I’m here. I need your help with this.”</p><p>She held up the handbook for the recently deceased she had gotten from Beetlejuice.</p><p>Adam gasped softly, whispering something about how he loved old books.</p><p> </p><p>“I want to use this to bring back my dead mom but only newly deads can open it,” she continued, “Beej hasn’t been very helpful.”</p><p> </p><p>With a small pat on her shoulder, Barbara gave Lydia a warm smile. “We’ll do what we can, dear.”</p><p> </p><p>Lydia echoed her smile. She knew she could count on them. With a dramatic flourish (the demon was probably rubbing off on her, Satan have mercy) she presented the book to Adam.</p><p>“Would you like to do the honors?”</p><p> </p><p>Barely being able to contain his excitement he quickly fished his reading glasses out of his pocket.</p><p>“I would love nothing more!” he exclaimed with a giggle that was downright adorable. </p><p>After a short pause to appreciate the smell that only old books could have he opened the handbook, both Lydia and Barbara at each shoulder.</p><p>“Woah,” he crooned, “This is such an interesting font!”</p><p> </p><p>Barbara and Lydia shared a look that basically screamed <em> ‘can you believe this dork?’ </em></p><p>Adam cleared his throat and began to read, “Chapter One, the Netherworld. All ghosts should proceed directly to the Netherworld. Huh, that would’ve been a good thing to know,” he grumbled with a roll of his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Does it say anything about summonings or seances?” Lydia mumbled more to herself than to the others as she flipped through the pages on her side.</p><p>Something caught Adams eye, “Hold on, it says that we have to draw a door!”</p><p> </p><p>An excited smile spread on Lydia’s face as she said, “I think I have some chalk downstairs.”</p><p> </p><p>“There’s more room in the living room too,” Barbara added with a small laugh.</p><p> </p><p>“Then there’s no time to lose! Let’s go!” Adam finished.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Once downstairs, Lydia produced a pack of chalk from a dresser in the dining room and handed it to Adam, who promptly drew a rectangle on the spacious wall next to the stairs.</p><p>“I see you guys redecorated, again. It’s very… Beetlejuice.”</p><p>The shit eating grin Lydia gave Barbara made her chuckle.</p><p>“Where is he anyway?”</p><p> </p><p>The girl simply shrugged in response. “Don’t know,” she said, “He was down here a minute ago. Maybe he’s raiding the fridge.”</p><p> </p><p>A small huff drew their attention back to Adam. He beamed, gesturing proudly at his handy work. “There! It’s a bit crooked but it should do the job. Now, all we need to do is knock three times and-”</p><p> </p><p>The front door swung open, startling all three of them this time. In came a stranger, a tall and broad shouldered man in a leather jacket. Lydia could make out various scars on his face and on the exposed skin of his hands. His eyes honed in on Lydia, but shifted to the two specters in the room soon after. Could he see them too? Just who was this guy?</p><p> </p><p>A second man was pushing his way into the room and past the stranger now, stopping a few feet away from her and whispering her name. Charles.</p><p> </p><p>“Dad? Why are you back? Who is that man?” Lydia was confused to say the least. She could spot Dalia just outside the door, seemingly too scared to come inside. So they had come back for her. She would’ve been touched by their effort, hadn’t it taken them four days to come back. She’d almost believed they had run off together, leaving her in the haunted house by herself and she had been content with that. Yet here they were.</p><p> </p><p>Charles lifted his hands in a placating gesture and took a small step forward. His words were slow and deliberate, as if directed at a frightened animal. “Lydia, dear, we’ve come to rescue you. This gentleman behind me will take care of the ghosts. Just come outside with me, okay darling?”</p><p> </p><p>She took a confused step away from him on reflex, a frown on her face. </p><p>“Rescue me?” she repeated, “Dad you don’t have to, I-”</p><p> </p><p>“She’s possessed, Charles! I told you!” came Dalia’s voice from the entrance way.</p><p> </p><p>Charles turned around quickly to hiss “Let me handle this,” and focussed on his daughter again with a nervous smile, “Please honey, just come with me. We can let the exorcist do his job and-”</p><p><br/>“ <em> Exorcist?! </em>” Lydia couldn’t help but scream. </p><p> </p><p>The stranger took a few more steps into the living room at that. “The two specters are in this room with us, I can feel them,” he barked at Charles, “Get your daughter out of the way.”</p><p> </p><p>She shot a nervous glance at Barbara and Adam who were huddled together next to the door drawing and were slowly backing away. They didn’t get far however, as the stranger in the leather jacket pulled out a small black book and read outloud “Shape eternal, fate infernal-”</p><p> </p><p>Everything that came after was lost on Lydia because Barbara started <em> screaming </em>. It was a raw sound, full of pain as she began levitating off the ground as Adam and her stared on in horror. Out of the corner of her eye she could see her father make another step towards her.</p><p> </p><p>God, everything was going great just a few moments ago. She needed to get away. She needed to save Barbra. She needed to get Adam out of here. She-</p><p> </p><p>The burly exorcist came towards her, his free hand stretched out, intent on grabbing her. Fight or flight reflexes kicked in, landing on flight. As fast as she could she made her way over to Adam, grabbing his cold hand and janking him up the stairs and away from his wife. If he was protesting, she couldn’t hear it over Barbara’s anguished screams. Once they made their way back up into the attic, she slammed the door behind them and turned the rusty old key sticking out of the lock and took a couple of steps away from the door, breathing heavily. For a moment neither of them spoke. </p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>Well, fuck.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Woop! And that concludes the first chapter! I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. I don't usually write a lot (drawing is more my gig), but this is a lot of fun! Constructive criticism is very appreciated!! </p><p>I have two more chapters written out that I will post within the next week, so thank you so much for reading and stay tuned!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>Lydia wasn’t sure if she could still hear Barbara scream from all the way up here or if her ears were ringing. Adam started pacing beside her, mumbling frantically to himself. There was only once choice left.</p><p> </p><p>She shook her hands out to stop the tremors and squared her shoulders, glaring at the door.</p><p>“We need his help,” she said. </p><p> </p><p>Adam turned to her, eyes wide and already guessing where her train of thought led. “He’s too dangerous and unreliable! He could kill us all!”</p><p> </p><p>The teen clenched her teeth and growled, “They’re already exorcising Barbra, we don’t have a lot of other options here.”</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe I could-”</p><p> </p><p>“You saw what he did to Barbra with only a few lines out of that book,” she interjected, “That guy is here to banish spirits. A summoned demon could probably do more harm against him.”</p><p> </p><p>The ghost beside her opened his mouth as if to speak, then closed it again after a moment and hung his head. “Y-yeah you’re probably right. Where is he?”</p><p> </p><p>She turned to Adam, a possible plan forming on her tongue just as something on the roof outside the window caught her eye. A nervous smile spread over her face. “Right on cue.”</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Beetlejuice took another deep, unneeded breath and let his eyes wander over the forest surrounding the Maitland-Deetz estate. He had teleported himself up to the roof to think (he was NOT moping, thank you very much), the cocktail of swirling, confusing emotions making his chest ache. He didn’t know he could feel like this. He probably had mother dearest to thank for this mess. She would probably laugh at him if she could see him like this. Of course that stupid curse of hers would give him stupid emotions he didn’t know how to deal with.</p><p> </p><p>Anger came easy for the demon. It was his default reaction when people fucked him over and left him in the dust. He desperately wanted to be angry, too. To keep that bit of fire inside of him alive. He was a fucking demon, for hell’s sake!</p><p> </p><p>He should be seething with fury right now. She had betrayed him.<em> HIM. </em></p><p> </p><p>He shook his head again, balling his fists. Try as he might, the dominating feeling was … sadness. A small part of him had hoped that the Maitlands would like him. He’d spent about 8 human months watching them. He hadn’t meant to, he just wanted to check in on them ever so often so he wouldn’t miss when they died. Hanging around the couple was more fun than he had anticipated however. They were endearing in their own strange and boring way. </p><p> </p><p>Beetlejuice had found himself returning to the Maitlands house again and again, dropping in to listen to Barbara complain about Janice from pottery class or watch Adam polish the stupid crib he was so fond of but was never going to get the chance to use.</p><p> </p><p>The day they had finally died, the loneliness weighing down his shoulders had almost grown heavy enough to physically hurt. His dead heart ached, longed for… for something he couldn’t quite pinpoint. Needless to say, he was ecstatic to finally introduce himself to the couple. But then he went overboard, came on too strong. </p><p> </p><p>He knew when he wasn’t wanted. He just pretended not to see. He had noticed how they looked at him.</p><p> </p><p>After his failed attempt of teaching them how to scare, he resorted to the thing he’d always done when faced with a problem. Anger. </p><p> </p><p>He screamed at them and then left.</p><p> </p><p>With the Maitlands out of the picture, he was ready to finally give up. Maybe lie down in the dirt somewhere and let the sandworms eat him. He didn’t think he could actually die from that since sandworms only ate ghosts and he was a demon, but it would probably take his mind off of things for a while.</p><p> </p><p>What he didn’t expect was a kid in scarecrow cosplay to beat him to his suicide attempt and to be able to actually <em> see </em> him.</p><p> </p><p>It was one last glimmer of hope in a gothic dress that presented itself to him on a silver platter. That was probably the moment when his end goal had shifted from ‘being seen’ to ‘get someone to tolerate your existence’.</p><p> </p><p>He had desperately hoped to befriend Lydia and for a wonderful moment it almost looked like things would finally go his way. Yes, she had pushed him off the roof the first time they met but that had only fueled his interest in her. The kid had spunk. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> She hadn’t feared him. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>And with every hour they spent scaring away visitors after getting rid of the other breathers his hope had grown. The hope for something he wasn’t even aware he longed for until it got ripped away from him. He really was pathetic, wasn’t he? He should’ve just stuck to what he knew but somehow, killing his ex-friend? Could’ve been pal? Acquaintance? It didn’t sound appealing to him at all. On the contrary, the thought only made him sick. At least he was finally corporal. Murdering some random idiots would probably lift his mood. Maybe an orgry or two. </p><p> </p><p>There were a few guide locations of recently deceased people who hadn’t moved on to the Netherworld yet in the area he could use to get out of the Deetz house without the risk of being eaten by sandworms just yet. He could still do that after anything he ended up doing next anyway. </p><p> </p><p>He was about to focus on a guide location a couple of miles away, when the window behind him opened.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> “Beej there you are! You gotta come down with us. Dad is back and he brought some weird dude in a leather jacket. We really don’t have a lot of time and could need your help-”</p><p>Lydia wasn’t even halfway through the window before she started rambling.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh so it’s like that, huh?” the demon growled, rounding on her and making the teen freeze mid step, “<em> ‘We could need your help’ </em>? So I’m useful to you again but you drop me like a hot potato the second you decide you don’t need me anymore. Is that it, kid?”</p><p> </p><p>Lydia took an instinctive step back. “Uh, what?”</p><p>His hair was bright red with a few small strands of violet. Together with the scowl plastered on his face and his glowing eyes he looked absolutely <em> livid </em>.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, that sounds like fun!” the demon continued, “Let’s treat the actual demon from hell like garbage, not like he deserves any better!”</p><p> </p><p>“W-what are you talking about?”</p><p> </p><p>The last few purple strands turned red at that. He narrowed his eyes and seethed, “Ah sure, rub it in some more, why don’t ya? Real classy of you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Rub <em> what </em> in, BJ? I’m being completely honest here, I really don’t know what your problem is!” the teen screamed back.</p><p> </p><p>Beetlejuice’s shoulders slumped and scrubbed a hand over his face with a groan. </p><p>“I should’ve known better. I guess that’s on me. Hah, and to think I started caring about you. You can drop the act now. We’re not pals. Sure. Fine. Amazing. Okay byeeee.”</p><p> </p><p>He was about to turn away towards the edge of the roof as Lydia jumped forward with a distressed ‘<em>no</em>!’, catching one of his wrists. He glared at her over his shoulder.</p><p> </p><p>“Is that what this is about? Beej listen, I-”</p><p> </p><p>“Please Beetlejuice. They want to exorcise Barbara.”</p><p>Adam had stepped forward, finally speaking up, “I don’t know what this is about, but she’s disappearing as we speak, p-please-” a few tears escaped and were slowly running down his cheek as he shook, “Please help her.”</p><p>Albeit the tears he held the demon’s gaze, determination and desperation shining brightly in them.</p><p> </p><p>Beetlejuice was silent for a long moment. He looked put out, exhausted even. The red in his hair was slowly fading to a deep purple again and the dark circles under his eyes had deepened considerably. He rubbed his eyes with a weary sigh, snapped his fingers, and was gone.</p><p> </p><p>Both Adam and Lydia stared at the empty space of dissipating smoke where the demon had just stood a moment ago in disbelief. </p><p> </p><p>“Did- did he really just leave…?” Adam’s voice was weak, “Bu- but what about-”</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>That’s when the screaming from downstairs started.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hi again!<br/>I am sooooo excited to post this chapter, mainly because I LOVE writing introspective Angst. We got a bit of it from BJ during his monologues in canon but one can never have too much Angst!!</p><p>I'd love to hear your thoughts on this and thank you so much for reading!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The noises of a fight coming from downstairs were audible even up on the roof. Adam and Lydia shared a shocked look before taking off again, climbing back into the attic through the large window, unlocking the door and bounding down the stairs. Every light in the huge house was flickering sporadically, crashes, shouts, wails and growling bouncing off the walls.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Lydia came to a halt on the first floor landing, gripping the handrail tightly as she assessed the situation down below. The coffee table had been smashed, bits of dark wood strewn across the room. Every lamp in the living room had burst, leaving only the exposed wires shining dimly and shooting small sparks every which way. Barbara was still in the same place they had left her in, but she was no longer hovering and screaming in fear and pain. She was lying on the floor, panting and trying to push herself into a sitting position with shaking limbs. All in all she looked tired and shaken but otherwise fine.  Charles and Dalia were holding each other in the doorway, seemingly too scared to move.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And in the middle of it all stood Beetlejuice, hair flushed red and hand outstretched. On the other side of the room was the stranger in the leather jacket. He was being held against the wall that was beginning to break under the invisible force, a spiderweb of cracks blooming around him. Almost sickeningly slow he was being crushed by the demon. Lydia could hear bones crack from where she stood. It made her skin crawl. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It hit her then. Beetlejuice, her friend who she had spent the better part of the week with having fun and scaring the neighbours with, was incredibly dangerous. They had joked about killing someone before but actually seeing it happen? It was terrifying.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Beetlejuice, stop!” No reaction. She wasn’t sure if he hadn’t heard her or if he was ignoring her. Cursing under her breath, she ran down the last flight of stairs and held onto the arm that was not currently lifted to crush the exorcist, ignoring the weak protests coming from the front door. “Please Beej, that’s enough!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He quickly turned towards her with a snarl. Even his shirt and tie had made the color change to red this time. In that moment, Lydia almost flinched back. He looked terrifying with a snarl plastered on his face, eyes glowing a dark orange. For a second it looked like he was going to attack her too, until recognition flitted over his face. He took a quick step back and out of her reach, his hair shifting to a reddish-purple again. Magenta, Lydia's brain supplied.  With his concentration broken the stranger fell to the ground with a grunt. Behind them, Adam was helping Barbara into an upright position.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I thought you wanted my help?” Confusion and annoyance were strong in the demon’s voice.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I did! I wanted you to stop that weird dude and get him out of here, not kill him!” the girl replied, throwing her hands up.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With an exasperated sigh and a roll of his eyes, he lifted his arm again and with a flick of his wrist sent the stranger flying through the still open doorway which promptly slammed shut. “There, stopped and gone. Are we done here?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No we are not!” It was Lydia’s turn to be angry. “You can’t just leave! We still haven’t talked about stuff!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh don’t worry, scarecrow. I got your message loud and clear,” he growled and took a step towards her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She squared her shoulders and lifted her chin in defiance, ignoring her father’s pleas to get away from the demon. “Oh don’t give me that! Just because you don’t think we’re friends-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“‘I don’t think we’re friends’? Lyds, you left </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>You</span>
  </em>
  <span> didn’t want to help bring my dead mom back. I just went to ask Adam and Barbara for help!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah and then you said you never thought of me as a friend, I know, I was there Lyds!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I-” the teen threw her hands up in frustration again, “I don’t know where you got that idea from. I don’t understand-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Might I inquire as to what is going on here? And why are there three ghosts now?” Charles had pulled Delia up with him and he slowly inched towards his daughter, wearily eyeing the ghost couple and the demon as he went.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>At that, the screaming match stopped, both participants turning towards him with a jerk. The teen let out a long suffering sigh. “Dad, meet my ghost parents,” she gestured towards the Maitlands who were still sitting on the ground holding each other, “and this is my demon friend.” She gave said demon an exaggerated, meaningful look and stressing the last word to which he growled.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Lydia, dear, why don’t you come here and-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, dad,” she interrupted. “No, how about we just fucking talk to each other like decent human beings for once.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Language,” mumbled Adam from his spot on the floor. “Rude,” grumbled the born-dead demon beside her. Barbara laughed softly as the teen stuck her tongue out at them. Her heart grew a little lighter at the small interaction. She took a steadying breath.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Charles was about to step forward once more, probably to try and grab Lydia again but was stopped by Delia. Although she was still shaking a bit from adrenaline and fear, she gave him a patient look. “How about we hear her out, Charles?” He seemed to deflate at that, hesitating before nodding softly and taking a step back, much to Lydia’s surprise.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With the attention of everyone in the room now on her, she took another calming breath and said “I told you before dad, this house is haunted. This is Adam and Barbara Maitland, the couple that lived in this house before we moved in. All they wanted was for us to move out so they could get their house back, not hurt us. They’re not dangerous. On the contrary,” she smiled at them, “They are nice people.” Adam gasped out a soft ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>aww</span>
  </em>
  <span>’.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay,” said Charles, drawing the word out, glancing at the ghost couple, “But what about-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And this is Beetlejuice,” she interrupted colly, “A demon I asked for help to get you two out of the house.” Said demon only waved grumpily and shoved his hands into his pant pockets after, all flair for the dramatic seemingly gone. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“But honey, why would you enlist the help of- of something so dangerous?” asked Charles, bewildered.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Someone, Chuck. I might be a demon from hell but I’m still a person,” the demon grumbled with no real heat behind the words.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Right, my apologies Mr Juice. But still, Lydia, I get that you are angry with me-”</span>
  <span></span><br/>
<span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Angry doesn’t even begin to describe what I feel,” the teen sneered. “You don’t even talk about dead mom. You act like she doesn’t even exist, yet here you are already getting married again? Excuse me if I’m a </span>
  <em>
    <span>bit</span>
  </em>
  <span> miffed at that.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Before Charles could reply, the demon clapped his hands loudly, “Welp, it’s been real you guys but I think I’ll get going now. Got some havoc to wreak and what not.” He took a couple of lazy steps away from Lydia and gestured out of the window. “Wait!” the girl screamed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ugh, what is it now?” the demon groaned, “You guys have shit to figure out and I got corporeal business to attend to, parties to crash, people to torment.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Beetlejuice, please just-” she shook her head, sighed and tried again in a tired, sad voice, “I’m sorry for yelling at you. You </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> my best friend even if you act like a big baby most of the time. Why don’t you stay with us.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, no thanks, kid. If this is the alternative to being alone then I think I’d rather be invisible again, thanks. Plus, judging by his face, your pops is going to have an aneurysm if you continue to ask me to stay.” With that he turned around again. “Anyways, this chapter is already long enough as is so I best be going. See ya suckers!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He was ready to snap his fingers and teleport away but was stopped yet again by another hand on his arm. Expecting it to be Lydia again, he turned with a growl only to find that Adam had gotten up from the floor and crossed the room to stop him, a frown on his face. His brain short circuited, not knowing how to respond.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Mr Beetlejuice,” the ghost began, “I know we might have started off on the wrong foot but I-” and he smiled, honest to god </span>
  <em>
    <span>smiled</span>
  </em>
  <span> at Beetlejuice, “I wanted to thank you. For saving Barbara. You didn’t have to, yet you did anyway. So thank you, Beetlejuice.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The demon’s face fell slack, hair flushing a green-blue. Turquoise? That was a new one. Lydia knew the hair colors correlated with his emotions but she didn’t know what this one meant. His blank look only furthered her frustration as she peered at him from behind Adam.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The demon was speechless for a moment, until Adam realized that he was still holding onto him, released him with a small ‘oh sorry’ and took a step back. Beetlejuice blinked once, twice. “Sure, no problem A-dog.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah, I should thank you myself,” Barbara said as she made her way over to them on unsteady legs. She looked exhausted but all in all okay. “I was really scared back there. I’m just glad you came when you did!” she said with a small laugh. “You don’t have to stay, and we’ll have to figure things out first,” she glanced behind her at the three living people in the room, “but you can always come visit us, that is if you tone it down with the physical advances.” Adam nodded next to her, both of them smiling gently at him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The demon still had that blank expression on his face. His tips were slowly turning pink. Great, more confusing colors.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It seemed to take him a solid five seconds to snap out of it. “Y-yeah,” he rasped out, “That sounds… nice.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He shook his head as if to rid his mind of whatever thoughts he had and smirked. It was nowhere near the usual ones he had given them before, but it was a good start. “Don’t miss me too much. I’ll come back to tap that soon,” he said with a wink and some finger guns. Barbara rolled her. Adam cleared his throat, embarrassed. His eyes landed on Lydia again. Tears had gathered in her eyes but she was too stubborn to let them fall, instead trying to look angry but failing miserably.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t look at me like that, jeez,” he gave a soft chuckle. They might not be friends yet, but with that sorrowful expression painted on the teens face, Beetlejuice wanted to believe they could be. Eventually. “I’ll be back, okay? Promise.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The tension seemed to drain out of her at that, a small smile fighting its way onto her face. She gave a tiny nod. He would come back. They would talk it out. They would be okay.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With his hair slowly turning back to his natural green again, the demon bowed deeply. “You’ve all been a great audience! With that I shall-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The front door slammed open, making them jump. In hobbled the exorcist in the leather jacket Beetlejuice had thrown out earlier, a crazed and enraged smile plastered on his face and the handbook for the recently deceased in hand.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Oooooh here we go, things are finally picking up steam!</p>
<p>I present to you the third heckin' cliffhanger in a row, woopsie. I didn't even know I was doing it tbh. Since it's the last one in this fic, I dedicate this one to madwriter223. This one's for you, bro.</p>
<p>The next chapter will be F U N so keep an eye out for that hehe</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>Beetlejuice was <em> not </em> having a good day. All he had wanted to do today was scare some more delivery guys and eat pizza with Lydia, just like they had been doing for the last four days. Instead he fought with his not-BFFFF, had a small emotional breakdown he didn’t even know he could have and saved a cute ghost couple that was probably disgusted by everything he did. He had come to the conclusion that he might as well help them out one last time before he left as a show of good will, a ‘thank you’ for the fun few days he had spent in their house after Lydia had asked him for help back on the roof. Now he just wanted to get the fuck out of here to save what little dignity and sanity he still had.</p><p> </p><p>Yet here he was facing off with a discount Dean Winchester for the second time today, who had somehow acquired a copy of one of the most powerful books in the living world. Not just that, he even managed to somehow <em> open </em> it. </p><p> </p><p>“Oh god, the book,” Adam mumbled from beside him, “I must have dropped it earlier.” Ah, that would explain some of it. He gave the specter a small pat on the shoulder that was meant to be reassuring and cracked his knuckles.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay guys, you better stand back a bit,” he said, taking a few lazy steps towards the exorcist who seemed to be frantically searching for something specific in the handbook, reading out a few lines, looking up and searching for something new again. “Let me just kill this schmuck real quick and-” A chorus of unified NO’s made him chuckle. “Okay, okay, no killing. Fine. But I’ll break his legs. Some more.”</p><p> </p><p>Charles seemed like he wanted to protest but couldn’t say much before Lydia and Delia pulled him back and towards the dining room. Adam and Barbara took a few hesitant steps back as well while the demon positioned himself in between the stranger and the ghost couple. He’d figure his stupid feelings for the Maitland-Deetz situation out later, and God/Satan there was<em> a lot </em> to figure out, but first he’d deal with that pesky exorcist. He lifted a hand again, planning on throwing the guy out like before and locking the front door this time but halted in mid-motion. </p><p> </p><p><em> He was frozen in place </em>.</p><p> </p><p>He had tuned out the stranger’s ramblings for the most part, who was still reading passages from the handbook but now that Beetlejuice actually looked, he noticed that the smaller book he had used for the ghost exorcism earlier was in his other hand. Huh, that couldn’t be good.</p><p> </p><p>Before he could utter a warning, he noticed an odd feeling overcome him. It started in his chest below his ribs, a warm, almost tingling feeling spreading outwards. At that point, he was almost bored, ready to break out of the stranger’s hold with brute strength and just be done with it, until a stab of hot, agonizing pain below his sternum made him gasp. It was only a short sensation, but the unneeded breath that forced its way inside his dead lungs with it <em> burned </em>. </p><p>The scorching pain was soon spreading outwards too, replacing the tingling feeling that had reached his fingertips. </p><p> </p><p>The incessant rambling of the stranger turned into whitenoise. If he screamed, he didn’t notice. All he knew was white, hot agony that seemed to last for an eternity. His entire being was ablaze, slowly being ripped apart from the inside. He wanted to curl in on himself, close his eyes and disappear if only he could <em> move </em>. Every fiber of his body screamed at him, overwhelming his brain and leaving him with nothing but endless white.</p><p> </p><p>And then nothing.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Barbara knew something was wrong from the moment she saw the copy of the handbook for the recently deceased Adam had dropped in his haste to get away earlier in the stranger's hand. When Beetlejuice had told her to stand back, she was thankful. Her body, dead or not, hadn’t had the time to recover from the attempted exorcism earlier. Her legs still felt weak, making the strain of holding her up known by tiny tremors wracking her body. Adam was steading her as the demon moved to stand between them and the threat. </p><p> </p><p>Then everything seemed to stop. </p><p> </p><p>The air around them grew sharp, humming with invisible energy as the stranger stopped flipping through the handbook, never halting the continuous flow of words. The sensation was similar to that of the ghost exorcism a few moments prior, but it felt warmer and amplified. With each phrase the stranger read from the two books he was holding, the temperature in the room seemed to rise. That’s when she noticed that Beetlejuice wasn’t moving. His hand was still outstretched as if to attack the intruder with his supernatural powers again, eyes opened wide and mouth agape. </p><p> </p><p>“Something is happening,” Adam whispered beside her anxiously, “We have to stop this.” As if on cue, a wave of hot energy swept through the room, throwing Adam and Barbara back a few feet who crashed into the dining room table. Barbara blinked a few times, holding her head. She was on the floor now and Adam beside her groaning in pain. It took her a few seconds to hear Lydia’s question, who had run over and knelt beside them.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh god, are you two okay?”</p><p> </p><p>Adam sat up, rubbing his back. “Yeah, I think we’re fine.” Barbara could only nod. Her hip hurt from where it had collided with the table that now lay in a few broken pieces around them, but she felt fine otherwise. “What was that?”</p><p> </p><p>A small gasp of pain caught their attention. Beetlejuice still hadn’t moved, his outstretched arm was shaking slightly, his hair slowly turning a stark white. The air around him sizzled and hissed. Even from where they were sitting on the floor in the dining room they could feel the immense heat radiating from the demon, which was strange in and of itself since ghosts didn’t seem to be able to feel heat. Barbara hadn’t been able to feel the warmth of the fireplace before, yet the temperature in the room was almost unbearable to her, making sweat bead on her forehead. </p><p> </p><p>Beetlejuice made a choked off sound in the back of his throat, eyes rolling back into his head as the shaking became more and more pronounced with every word that left the exorcist’s mouth. Patches of his skin began to glow dimly in the low lighting. </p><p>Lydia was the first to react, jumping up from her position on the floor but was unable to move much closer to her friend, stopped by a wall of scorching heat.</p><p> </p><p>“We have to help him somehow!” she screamed, looking frantically at the others. Charles lifted his hands in a placating gesture. “Lydia, dear, maybe this is for the best.”</p><p> </p><p>“You can’t be serious.” Disbelief was coloring her voice. “Dad, he’s my <em> friend </em>.”</p><p> </p><p>“No Lydia, he is an incredibly powerful and dangerous entity. We should get rid of him while we have the chance!”</p><p> </p><p>“He was leaving anyway! There’s no need for any of this!”</p><p> </p><p>“Mr Deetz,” Barbara interrupted hurriedly, “I know this is a lot to take in all at once, but this demon isn’t evil. A bit childish maybe but he never once hurt your daughter.” She took a deep breath and stood, Adam steadying her once more. “If this,” she gestured to the scene playing out in front of them, “Feels anything like what I went through, he’s in indescribable pain.”<br/><br/>Charles looked unsure. His gaze shifted to the demon, shaking and choking, still frozen in place. He shook his head and took Delia’s hand who squeezed his in return. His shoulders dropped. Making up his mind, he gave a small nod to his daughter and turned to the exorcist.</p><p> </p><p>“Mr Merrin, please cease this immediately!” he screamed over the roar of energy in the room, “We are no longer in need of an exorcist!” </p><p> </p><p>The stranger didn’t seem to hear him, but there was a small, cruel smile spreading over his lips as he continued to read passages out of his books.</p><p> </p><p>Gurgling noises drew their attention back to the demon, who had started foaming at the mouth, legs bent and shaking but unwilling to let him collapse to the floor.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, that does it!” Adam was stepping past Lydia, raising his arms, eyebrows pulled together in a concentrated frown. At first nothing seemed to happen, all of them watching with bated breath as the demon began to convulse. </p><p>Suddenly, the doormat underneath the stranger slid away, making him fall and breaking his constant reading in the process. The momentary break dropped the temperature in the room immediately as Beetlejuice crumbled to the floor, hacking and coughing weakly.</p><p> </p><p>Adam’s victory was cut short however, as the exorcist started reading from his small book again with a growl. Barbara watched helplessly as her husband was lifted into the air for a moment and was sent sailing into the kitchen with a short yelp. She was torn between attacking the stranger and running after Adam, ultimately sinking to the floor because her shaking legs gave out beneath her, heart in her throat. She lifted her hand towards the man in the leather jacket, trying something, <em> anything </em> to stop him but Lydia was faster.</p><p> </p><p>She had grabbed a piece of bad art that her father had insisted on bringing with them for whatever reason, gripped it like an oversized bat and rushed at the exorcist who was still on the ground and occupied with trying and failing to open the handbook that had slammed shut after his fall. With a swing that would put Tiger Woods to shame, the big end part of the art piece connected with the stranger's head. He was unconscious immediately. </p><p> </p><p>It was silent for a moment, except for Lydia’s harsh breaths and Beetlejuice’s coughing and wheezing.</p><p> </p><p>“Is everyone alright?” Adam was leaning on the doorframe for support, glasses askew and clothes rumpled. </p><p> </p><p>“I’ll live,” came a weak, hoarse rasp from the floor, “Figuratively.” </p><p> </p><p>Lydia breathed a sigh of relief.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>There we go, one more chapter down and one more to go.<br/>This one was fun to write but it's also the first action/suspense heavy chapter I've written, so uh, lemme know what you think please!</p><p>Again thank you so much for reading! The next chapter will be up soon!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>There was fire in his lungs. Somehow he had ended up on the floor, arms and legs twitching with the aftershock of pain as he wheezed and hacked. The ringing in his ears was slowly fading away to nothing, leaving him with the noise of his own painful breaths that sounded far too loud in his head. It took Beetlejuice a few moments to pry open his eyes. The living room was a mess. The striped couch he had conjured up on a whim was singed and torn. Windows had shattered in the fallout, the shards mixing with the broken glass bulbs of the lamps he had burst with his demonic powers. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>For a moment he just lay there on the charred remains of the carpet, trying to get his lungs under control. God/ Satan, demonic exorcisms sucked ass. He hadn’t come this close to being killed in <em> centuries. </em> How embarrassing.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Lydia take a few steps back and into the room. She was holding a weird pole-like thing with a spiked end. She was standing over a now unconscious exorcist and breathing heavily.  He must have hit his way on the way down, because nothing about the scene in front of him made sense to him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A quick glance in the other direction revealed Charles and Delia huddled together next to a broken table in the dining room and Barbara sitting on the floor, shaken up but safe. Before his sluggish mind could panic over the missing person in the room, Adam appeared in the kitchen door, leaning on the doorframe for support and asking if they were alright. His gaze found Beetlejuice’s. The concern in it made his chest ache again. He closed his eyes and groaned out an affirmative. He could feel their eyes on him. All he wanted to do in that moment was melt into the floor and disappear, hide away from their pity but the second he tried to tap into his demonic powers a stab of pain between his lungs made him flinch.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He must have made a noise that spurred the others into action. Adam reached him first, hands hovering over him anxiously. Lydia wasn’t too far behind, kneeling beside the ghost. The ugly pole thing was still in her hand and even after the second time of trying to figure out what it was, Beetlejuice was still drawing a blank.</p>
<p>Oh wait, they were talking to him. He should probably pay attention.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“-ou hear me? Are you okay? Please say something, or uh- grunt if you can hear me. What hurts? Is it your breathing? Your breaths sound painful. Do demons even need to breathe? Oh god, I don’t know-”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Calm down, Sexy,” Beetlejuice rasped out with a small chuckle. “I’ll be fine, just give me a few.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Adam visibly relaxed at the nickname, tension draining out of his shoulders as he breathed a sigh of relief. Lydia was frowning down at him. “You look like shit.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Thanks Lyds, that really builds confidence.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No, I mean your skin. It’s all... blotchy.” She poked a patch of red skin on his hand. It tingled. He scrunched up his nose.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yeah, being burned by holy light sucks. It’ll fade soon enough though.” </p>
<p>The demon moved to sit up which resulted in Adam yelping and flailing his hands, wanting to push him back down but worried that he might hurt him. Beetlejuice shook his head with a small smile and pushed himself into a sitting position with a grunt. Charles had made his way over to the prone stranger, peering down at him but not getting too close. Barbara was still sitting on the ground, inspecting a bruise on her left arm. Delia had inched closer to Adam and Lydia and was peering at him curiously.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Beetlejuice blinked slowly, his brain still not fully comprehending what had happened. His confusion must have shown on his face, because Lydia gave him a smile and held up the weird pole. “Don’t worry, I took care of the asshole.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Adam gave her a stern look. She sighed and rolled her eyes. “The dude in the ugly jacket. Adam helped.” The ghost next to her puffed out his chest at that. Beetlejuice could only stare.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I don’t believe it,” he began slowly, “Mr Goodie-Two-Shoes who cries over paper cuts,” he pointed at the unconcious guy, ignoring the offended<em> ‘hey!’ </em> from the specter, “Helped take out that?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lydia laughed at his baffled expression, Adam scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment. The demon smirked. “We’ll fuck me gently with a chainsaw, I guess I underestimate you!”</p>
<p>The ghost mumbled another small <em> ‘language’ </em> under his breath but the timid smile fighting it’s way onto his face was already worth it. He beamed, wanting to tease him some more but stopped himself as another thought popped into his mind.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Wait,” he turned to teen, “you.” Lydia was grinning. “You saved me.” She rolled her eyes again with an exasperated huff.</p>
<p>“Yeah well, that’s what friends are for, dummy!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There was that word again. Friends. She kept using it as if she believed it. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> “I thought we were pals.” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> “What are you talking about? I’m gonna find my mom!” </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hadn’t she meant what she said? She’d left him in favor of the Maitlands to bring back her mother of all people. Mothers were the worst, he could attest to that personally, yet she still chose her over him. So why was she still using that word?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What does turquoise mean?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The girl was frowning at him, not quite making eye contact but looking a bit higher. “What does turquoise mean?” she repeated. “All I know is that the colors relate to emotions like some sort of shitty mood ring.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I uh-” he lifted a hand to cover some of his hair on reflex to hide it from view, “I don’t really know.” Juno would scream at him for this.<em> ‘I told you to control that stupid hair of yours’ </em> she would say. <em> ‘No one will take you seriously like that.’ </em></p>
<p>This was all his fault. He had gone ahead and gotten himself summoned like the lonely idiot that he was and now his emotions were all over the place. Fucking fantastic.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Beej, c’mon, I can see that something is bothering you. Talk to me.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I don’t get it. Why do you keep using that word.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“‘That word’?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Was she still playing dumb? How long would she keep this up? “The joke is getting stale, Lyds. You call me your friend, yet you left me for the Maitlands, for your <em> mother </em>.” He spat out the last word, “I fucking get it, okay? I’ll be out of here in a minute.”</p>
<p>She was glancing at his hair again, eyebrows drawing together in worry. He groaned, moving to stand. She hurriedly followed suit.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Left you? What makes you think that? You wouldn’t help get the book open, so I went and asked Adam and Barbara. I would’ve come back after that!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Come back? For what, to introduce you to your -ergh- mother?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> “Yes!” </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>What. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Listen, I know that your mother was terrible but not all mothers are bad.” She glanced at his hair again and continued, “Dead mom was my favorite person, and god she would’ve<em> loved </em>you.” She laughed, tears forming in her eyes. “She loved everything strange and unusual and you’re as strange and unusual as they get! Like, that one time she found this ugly weasel. It was all messed up and dirty, hissing and biting but dead mom noticed it was hurt. She got bitten all over but she managed to bring it to a vet. Turns out it wasn't a weasel but an abused cat that was missing its hind legs." </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The teen sniffled with a melancholy smile. "She wanted to keep it but I'm allergic. That didn't stop her from stalking the family that ended up adopting it, to make sure that they'd treat her well." She looked up with a helpless shrug. "She was super weird but I loved her. She was my whole world."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The concept of a mother that was not shitty was new. All he had to go by was Juno after all. In hindsight it almost seemed silly. Barbara wanted children when she was still alive and she was probably the nicest woman he knew. So it all had been a big misunderstanding? That was almost more embarrassing than getting his ass handed to him by a discount Ed Warren in a tacky jacket. He really was stupid, wasn’t he?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He sighed wearily, letting his shoulders drop. “Listen kid, I’m sorry-”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No! You don’t have to apologize for anything!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Well,” Adam drew out the word but didn’t say anything more, glancing around him at the ruined living room with a smirk. Lydia pursed her lips in contemplation.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I think we should all apologise.” Charles was crossing the room, coming to a halt next to his daughter. “Mr Juice.” Beetlejuice snorted. “I’m sorry for this mess. Mr and Mrs Maitland was it?”</p>
<p>Adam straightened. Barbara, who had managed to find a chair that hadn’t been broken, looked up from where she was sitting and  inspecting a tear in her dress. “I’m sorry for the attempted exorcism. I was scared for Lydia and acted out of fear.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He then turned to the teen, a sorrowful expression on his face. “Lydia, I’m so sorry. I should’ve talked to you about- about Emily, I should’ve-”</p>
<p>He was stunned into silence as the girl threw her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. Delia had moved over and was rubbing small circles into Lydia’s back with a soft smile. They made a strange picture together, all banged up and teary eyed, but they finally looked like a family.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Beetlejuice shifted his weight from foot to foot awkwardly, clearing his throat and shoving his hands into his pockets again.</p>
<p>“I can see that you guys have to figure stuff out. I think I’ll leave you to it. The whole exorcism thing really did a number on my skin care program I had going. Luckily I know just the gal to help me with that and since I’m fully summoned now, I can visit the netherworld again.” </p>
<p>He was moving while speaking, picking up a charred piece of the broken coffee table to draw a new door on the wall with but hesitated.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>No one had stopped him from leaving this time but turning around revealed that Adam had moved closer and stopped, Lydia was visibly struggling to not burst into tears again and even Charles looked like he still wanted to talk to him. To his surprise, Delia was the one to step forward after a beat.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Mr Juice," she began hesitantly, "I believe we may have had a rough start-" he snorted again "-but I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say that you are welcome to return. You have caused us a great deal of trouble but so have we." With that she <em> smiled </em>. What was it with people and smiling at him today? He was losing his touch, wasn't he? Try as he might, he couldn't fight the fluttering feeling of… happiness? By hell, he was screwed. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Should you want to stay," Deborah was still talking, right. "I'm sure we could use a helping hand with the cleaning!" Wait what.</p>
<p>"Yeah Beej, you caused half of this mess, maybe even most of it. You should help!" Lydia had wriggled out of her father's arms and was pointing at him with a grin, tears still wet on her cheek. He narrowed his eyes into a playful leer. "Traitor."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She stuck her tongue out at him again, startling a laugh out of him. He blinked. He really liked these breathers more than he thought he would. The telltale pull of a new guide job coming up made itself known in his chest. He shook his head in amusement. There was no way in hell he'd ever help cleaning anything, cute breathers and new confusing emotions aside. He may have softened up a tad but he hadn't cleaned up in over a millennia, and he was not about to start now. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"No thanks kid, I think I'll pass. Gotta keep some of my dignity, ya know?" The teen crossed her arms. "Hey don't give me that look, I'm a busy demon that's got work to do! Hell needs their best bio-exorcist back."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Barbara barked out a laugh and raised an eyebrow. "The best? Really?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"You wound me , Babs," he clutched at his chest in a dramatic fashion. "Now that I'm summoned, I don't need to keep sexy newly deads in the world of the living. I'll behave. Probably." He offered her his most sincere and innocent smile that had probably too many teeth. The glowing eyes and corpse aesthetic weren't doing him any favors either, but Barbara laughed non the less. His chest fluttered.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"You-" the teen hesitated, "-you will come back, right?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>God/ Satan, he was toast. He took a few steps towards her and ruffled her hair with a soft smile. "Course I'll be back, scarecrow. Can't possibly leave you alone with murderous exorcists running amok."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I'll see to it that this one will not bother us again," Charles threw in,  phone already in hand.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He was still ruffling Lydia's hair who was trying in vain to bat away his hand. He nodded. "Right on, Chuck." The teen bit his hand. "Eww gross," they said in unison, then burst out laughing.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Seriously though," the demon said between breaths, "you should probably wash your teeth now." That shut the teen up almost immediately which made Beetlejuice cackle even louder.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Welp, I should probably get going. Reception is probably trying to hunt me down as we speak-" small arms wrapped around him, stopping his train of thought. It drailed and flew off a cliff, crashing into a deep metaphorical chasm of disbelief, leaving no survivors. It blew up after a few moments. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He could feel her body warmth through his suit,  which was awfully dirty. She had squished her face into his chest and he felt almost guilty for the smell. His whole body was tingling, and all he could think was how <em> warm, warm, warm he felt </em>. When was the last time someone had touched him out of their own volition? Was this what it was like to be held? It was almost too much, his brain buzzing with excitement and anxiety. It must have taken him a small eternity before he noticed that his arms were hovering over her form, frozen from the initial shock. Should he hug back? Is that how it worked? Probably.</p>
<p>His hands came to rest lightly on her small shoulders. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He did it. Hug accomplished. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"You smell terrible," the goth's voice was muffled, but she didn't move away.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Sorry." That earned him a small giggle and a soft <em> 'aww' </em>. Adam, most likely.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Another thought struck him. "Hey, once I'm back I could try and help with your dead mom problem." Her head zipped up. "You would?" Her eyes were wide, hopeful and almost desperate. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Sure, I have a few strings I can pull. If you want to...?" At that he looked over at Charles, who reached for Delia's hand, silently asking for permission. She took it with a small smile. He nodded. The short interaction went unnoticed by the teen, who was excitedly asking him about details. "Okay, calm down kid. I can't promise that we'll find her."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She flung herself at him again. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!!" He patted her head affectionately. He had already wasted enough time with these dweebs.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> Juno will probably be mad. </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He shook his head. That was a problem for another time. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He lifted his hands into a dramatic pose and snapped, conjuring up a dozen of his clones. Lydia let go of him, pulling a disgusted face and sniffing her hands. Green lightning was flashing overhead. The demon amplified his voice. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Goodbye cruel world!" His voice bounced off of the walls. He preened at the awestruck faces of the Maitlands and Delilah, the eye roll Chuck gave him and the knowing smirk on Lydia's face. His clones lifted him up for dramatic effect as he got ready to teleport them to the next guide location. "Darling will never come this way again!" he announced dramatically. He was pretty sure he could hear Lydia laughing over the rumble of thunder. With a snap of his fingers, a gigantic cloud of green smoke and a fabulous light show, he was gone.</p>
<p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>For a moment, all the Maitland-Deetz could do was stare in awe. Charles was the first to break out of his stupor.</p>
<p>"This has been a strange day." </p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Strange and unusual!" said Lydia with a small laugh. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>An ambulance was called for the unconscious exorcist, who received a cease and desist letter soon after. It took the Maitlands-Deetz family a few days of healing, of talking and a few more  week's to clean and fix the living and dining rooms, until normalcy snuck back into their lives. For the first time in forever, Lydia felt like she had a home. She couldn't wait until her best friend came back to visit again</p>
<p> </p>
<p>-</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Plese read!</p>
<p>First of all, thank you soooo so much for reading my fic! I'm honestly blow away by how many comments and kudos this one got! I had a lot of fun writing it and I'm honestly glad that you guys enjoyed it. </p>
<p>Now! The thing is, back when I started planning the story, I originally had 4 pages of notes for 6 more chapters that would tell the story of BJ returning after a small time skip after the events of chapter 5. I figured I could write the first part of the story to test the waters, see if I anyone would want me to continue.</p>
<p>Well, this is me asking: Would you want to read more of this? </p>
<p>Even if not, thank you all again for reading and for leaving comments and kudos, they mean the world to me!</p>
<p>I love you guys &lt;3</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Edit: <br/>So I just got back online to read all of your kind comments and I'm gonna be honest with you here chief, I was already convinced to continue this story after the first comment asdgdgf<br/>You are all adorable, thank you so much!</p>
<p>I'll take a little break from writing to finish some commissions. The next chapter should be up some time next week. We're in for a wild ride, so stay tuned!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had been about 3 months since the whole 'honey, I tried to exorcise the Maitlands and the weird stripey ghost man' debacle went down. It had also been almost 3 months since Beetlejuice, self-proclaimed ghost with the most, had left for a job, leaving only the promise to return behind (not that Lydia was keeping track or anything).</p><p> </p><p>During those few months things took a turn for the better. Although she was still mostly angry with her father, Lydia and Charles began to talk to each other about their problems, about their feelings, about <em> Emily </em>. They had a rocky start, as two broken plates and a smashed cup could attest, but ever so slowly they began to work it out. They began to understand. </p><p>And with understanding came the reconciliation with Delia. Albeit reluctant to let her in, Lydia couldn't deny that she had grown on her. The teen wasn't entirely comfortable with calling her a stepmother just yet, but she could no longer imagine her family without the goofy woman.</p><p> </p><p>Much the same was true for the Maitlands. Trauma bonds people like nothing else, apparently. After the attempted exorcism, Adam and Barbara were quick to forgive the Deetz. <em> "If Lydia was our daughter, I'm sure we would've done the same thing," </em> Barbara had said, <em> "You were simply scared for her. It would be cruel to hold that against you."  </em></p><p> </p><p>Since the Maitland-Deetz estate was quite big, living together in the same house was fairly simple. The ghost couple decided to claim the attic as their own room, even though there were at least 2 empty guest rooms on the second floor, claiming that the attic contained most of their old belongings anyway. It would be easier to simply clean that up than move their stuff into one of the empty rooms downstairs.</p><p> </p><p>And so they went, Adam and Barbara electing to cook for the living inhabitants, Delia tending to the garden and Charles regularly being off to work. Looking back, it was almost hard for Lydia to picture her family any different. She was still missing Emily of course, but her new family consisting of wacky dweebs almost felt natural. It gave her time to heal. That is, until school started back up.</p><p> </p><p>Her summer break had been incredibly hectic, filled to the brim with hauntings, demons, exorcists and emotional catharsis. She had barely noticed time flying by until Delia came into her room one late August evening to present to her the new school uniform that she was required to wear. Anxieties of a new school year started bubbling up, as well as distaste for the boring blazer and skirt. </p><p> </p><p>"I'm sure you'll look absolutely adorable in these!" Delia exclaimed in artificial enthusiasm, "Don't judge a book by its cover. You should try them on!"</p><p> </p><p>Lydia made no attempt to get up from where she was sitting on her bed and raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Don't they come in any other colors? Blue is really not my style."</p><p>Delia's shoulders dropped in defeat as she frowned down at the clothes in her arms. "I don't think they do, but," a smirk creeped over her features, "I don't think the school rules say anything about slight discoloration. It's not like they could forbid me to have a small <em> accident </em> while washing these."</p><p> </p><p>The teen blinked in surprise, then giggled. "Delia, why one could almost think I'm rubbing off on you!" She got up to inspect the uniform up close. "Black would be much better, but what if we get in trouble?"</p><p>Delia only rolled her eyes with a smile, "What are they going to do, arrest me? Give me an hour. I'll see what I can do." And with a quick hug she swep out of the room, laughing menacingly as she went. What a weirdo. Lydia was <em> ecstatic </em>. </p><p> </p><p>Who knew that Delia, former life coach and vegan, could show bloodlust and own it. She laughed quietly. It was almost absurd at how much they had grown closer in the last few weeks. Both of them had agreed to compromise, to be willing to make an attempt, and surprisingly, it seemed to be working. Hell, she even had agreed to see a therapist at Delia's offer and, although she had her doubts, having someone to talk to about her mother, who could give her an outsider's perspective had helped. Helped work through emotions. Helped get her mind off of things. Helped her move on.</p><p> </p><p>A look at the clock on her bedside table revealed that she still had plenty of time to finish the assignment her therapist had asked her to do. She had gotten into the habit of writing her thoughts down, almost like a diary, to clear her mind. Having to formulate her thoughts made it easier for her to grasp them and to work through them.</p><p>She was about to reach for her laptop as a big, dark silhouette outside of her first story window startled her. Pressed up against the glass was a grotesque sight, a deathly-pale grimace with rows and rows of shark teeth that were stretched into a crude approximation of a smile. Haunting yellow-glowing eyes were fixed on her intently, almost like a predator stalking its prey.</p><p> </p><p>The teen picked up a stray pillow at her feet and chucked it at the window. The creacher yelped and seemed to fall away and out of sight as the pillow connected with the glass with a dull noise. She immediately threw herself forward, opening the window and leaning out. </p><p>"YOU ASSHOLE!" she screamed, expecting to find a demon shaped pancake in her driveway. It was empty. </p><p> </p><p>She felt eyes on her neck and a gravely voice rasped in her ear, "Aww, I missed you too, scarecrow." Her elbow made contact with his jaw in a heartbeat, making him stagger back a few steps. "YOU <em> ASSHOLE, </em> " she repeated, fixing him with a glare and squaring her shoulders, "You were gone for <em> months </em>."</p><p> </p><p>The man in front of her raised his hands in a placating manner and backed away slowly, vibrant green hair and grin betraying him. "Ya see, I would've sent a postcard but the postal service in the Netherworld sucks. Work had me busy and reception would've had my head on a spike if I didn't <em> oof- </em>" </p><p> </p><p>He staggered under the weight of a 16 year old teenager flinging herself at him and went still, patting her back awkwardly after a moment. "Is- is this gonna be a thing now? I know I look pretty cuddly but even I don't know where the dark stains on my suit came from."</p><p> </p><p>She stepped back quickly, snickering. "Gross."</p><p> </p><p>"Your face is gross."</p><p> </p><p>"Your face is grosser."</p><p> </p><p>"Touché."</p><p> </p><p>She had tried not to think of him, but seeing him standing in the middle of her room in his disgusting pinstriped suit and ratty trench coat opened the floodgates of emotions she had kept bottled up. She had missed him so much and now he was back. <em> He was actually back! </em></p><p> </p><p>The door to the hallway flung open, revealing a bewildered Barbra brandishing a pan. "I heard screaming, Lydia are you-" Her eyes fell on the intruder in the room. All fight left her body as she dropped the raised pan.</p><p> </p><p>"Babs!" Not missing a beat, Beetlejuice threw his arms out with a broad grin. She squealed, ducking under his arms, narrowly avoiding him and wacked him lightly with her makeshift weapon. "You're back!" she laughed, "Lydia, why didn't you say anything? Welcome back, Beetlejuice!"</p><p> </p><p>This time Barbara initiated the hug, stunning the demon into silence yet again. Albeit brief, his hair started turning a light pink at the edges with a few strands of… white? Lydia frowned. She'd only ever seen his hair turn white during the exorcism.</p><p> </p><p>Barbara let him go and the moment was broken. Green flushed back in as if nothing had happened. The demon smiled broadly. "I literally just arrived, Babs."</p><p> </p><p>"Oh!" the ghost clapped her hands in excitement, "I'll go tell the others! I'll leave you two to it, but do come down and say hi to everyone, alright? No disappearing again for months, understood?" She wagged a finger at him with a grin. Her answer was a small salute. She giggled and left, closing the door with a small <em> 'see you downstaiiiiirs!' </em>  The demon turned towards Lydia, raising an eyebrow. All she could do was shrug.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>To say that Beetlejuice had missed Lydia was the understatement of the year, nay, <em> the century. </em> Don't get him wrong, he had wanted to come visit ever since he had finished that fist guide job he had left the Maitlands-Deetz for. Mother fear had other ideas however. The fact that he had taken 4 days off of work unannounced hadn't gone unnoticed. She hadn't been happy, sending her goons to retrieve him, so she could rant at him about how much of a disappointment he was. Ya know, the usual. She had been breathing down his neck ever since, basically drowning him in work. Most of the last few months was used to work off the mountain of cases she had assigned him to. </p><p> </p><p>Today had marked the first day in what felt like forever that he found time to catch his breath between jobs. Mt. Case Files had slowly decreased to nothing over the past few days. He had eagerly anticipated the moment he slammed the last nether door shut, turned around and waited. No tugging. No new job guide. For now.</p><p> </p><p>He breathed a sigh of relief, tension draining out of him. How long had it been? He'd never fully grasped the way humans measured time but, judging by his aching muscles, it had been a while since he had a real break. He wouldn't usually complain about his job, he loved being a guide for newly deads, but his thoughts kept wandering back to his fam- to the Maitland-Deetz. He had left in a hurry, leaving them to pick up the pieces literally and metaphorically. Sue a guy for being curious, but he wanted to make sure that they were alright and not at each other's throats. Or well, if the latter was the case, he would love to watch. Preferably from a safe distance. </p><p> </p><p>His right jacket pocket began glowing suddenly. It took him a moment to fish out the offending item, a small, foldable hand mirror he was required to carry around as per job description. It displayed a simple message:</p><p>
  <em>C. will cover for you for a few days.</em>
</p><p>
  <em> Don't do anything dumb. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> -A. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>He smiled and pocketed the mirror again. He should get her flowers or something. </p><p> </p><p>Getting a real break between cases was as good an excuse as any. He ruffled his hair, straightened his tie and brushed some dust (it was definitely dust, yes) off his sleeves and took a deep, unneeded breath.</p><p> </p><p>He teleported himself right outside of Lyds window, hovering there for a moment and peering in. As far as he could tell she looked healthy, happy even, dressed in all black as usual and a small smile on her lips. </p><p> </p><p>As it turns out, it had been months since he left. Woops. To add insult to injury, people were still intent on showing him affection. Affection directed <em> toward him. </em> Double woops. He had no idea how that came to be, but he was not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Hugs still confused him more than anything, fortunately they never lasted long enough for him to start panicking though. </p><p>He got distracted by how nice Babs' hair smelled for a minute and was pulled out of his thoughts by Lydia, who was studying him critically.</p><p> </p><p>"Something on my face?"</p><p> </p><p>"I can still see the, uh, marks," she gestured at his face. "They're faint but still there. I thought you said they would fade?"</p><p> </p><p>"Didn't really get time to fix any of that yet." He was pretty sure the ladies at the front desk of reception to the Netherworld would know how to make the light scar tissue fade, but then again he had never been one to care about his appearance much. </p><p> </p><p>The teen shrugged again, dropping the subject.</p><p> </p><p>"We should really head downstairs though," the demon continued, "I want to say hello to sexy!" He snickered at Lydia's stern look. "Relax, relax, I'll be on my best behaviour. Scout's honor!" He lifted his right hand as if under oath. That's how that worked, right? Sure.</p><p> </p><p>The goth only shook her head, already opening the door. "Fine but it's not my fault if dad sends another exorcist after you."</p><p> </p><p>The Maitlands were waiting for them in the living room that, to Beetlejuice’s surprise, still featured the striped couch he had materialized. It was the only striped furniture in the room and stood out like a sore thumb. The demon couldn't help the buzzing feeling of happiness that warmed his heart at the sight. </p><p>Adam was the first to spot them coming down the stairs and was already bounding over.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> His arms are up. He's going in for a hug. He'll expect you to hug back. Ignore the weird, confusing feelings and don't fuck it up, don't fuck it up, don't fuck it up- </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Something must have shown on his face. Adam had lowered his arms, his smile only losing a fraction of its brilliance as he went to give him a soft pat on the arm instead. The spot tingled where he had touched him. </p><p> </p><p>"Mr Beetlejuice, it's good to see you again!" That snapped him out of his frozen state. He gave the ghost a salacious smirk, "Oh please, Adam, just Beetlejuice is fine." He winked. Adam coughed, embarrassed. <em> Cute. </em></p><p>"So Beetlejuice," Barbara had appeared next to Adam, "How long will you be staying? And how have you been?"</p><p> </p><p>"Oh you know, same old, same old. Job had me busy for the most part." He shrugged. They were smiling at him again. <em> Keep it together. </em>"I have a few days off sooo…" He left the sentence unfinished, shrugging yet again.</p><p> </p><p>That's when Dora came into the room, carrying what looked like a sad attempt at a self-baked pie. "Wonderful!" she exclaimed, seemingly having heard the exchange, "Just in time for pie!" Lydia was slowly trying to hide behind him. The ghost couple smiled as if it was physically painful. "Charles won't be home until later. Why don't we sit down? We've got some catching up to do!"</p><p> </p><p>Yep, he had missed them.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hey guys!<br/>Have this chapter that got wayyy to long. Seriously.  This whole chapter checks one single bullet point from my notes for the story. </p><p>The world's a crazy place right now. Stay safe. &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>"So, let me get this straight," Beetlejuice pointed his slice of Diane's newest experiment at the ghost couple, "You two are cool with the breathers living in your house but chose the shitty attic as your bedroom?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hey, I like the attic!" Adam was quick to defend their choice. Barbara nodded enthusiastically next to him, trying hard not to look at the abomination in the middle of the coffee table. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You should see their newest project. They started building a mini version of the city," Lydia added. Her own plate was untouched. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The demon merely raised an eyebrow and took a big bite of his slice. The teen winced in sympathy. Daphne beamed. Something in his first few bites crunched. Beetlejuice remained unperturbed. He turned to the teen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And you,” crumbs went flying as he spoke,”You’re talking to a shrink now?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A therapist, yes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And that… helps?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lydia smiled. “Believe it or not, my life hasn’t been exactly normal. I think a bit of additional help is warranted.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He took another bite, mulling it over. “I guess that’s true.” His head snapped up, grinning. “Did you tell him about me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah yes, tell him how you met the demon from literal hell,” Daniela laughed, “Happens every other week.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The goth gasped in mock offence. “Of course I told him about my BFFFF! I may have left out some details, sure, but how could I possibly keep all of… this,” she gestured at the demon in question, “to myself?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“HAH! In your face Delilah!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You were so close.” Diana’s voice was heavy with sadness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not like my therapist needs to know what specifically  I’m talking about anyway,” Lydia continued, “Hell, I don’t understand </span>
  <em>
    <span>him</span>
  </em>
  <span> most of the time. He keeps making weird references to animated shows that I’ve never seen, and honestly? I’m not sure if I should be concerned that an adult man watches cartoons.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Beetlejuice scoffed. “Oh please, cartoons rule! You should see the one I’m in, it’s a classic!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She rolled her eyes. “His assignments are really helpful though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“When is an assignment </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever</span>
  </em>
  <span> fun?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The teen snorted. “No really, they helped me! It’s usually just me writing notes to myself, so I can figure out what I’m feeling.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Dear me, no one appreciates my gothic aesthetic and I would give my left kidney to see my homeroom teacher choke on a sandwich. Sincerely, me.’”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That startled a laugh out of her. “Sure, something like that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s good to see you again,” Barbara jumped in, choosing to ignore their snickers and previous conversation topic, “You said work kept you busy?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lydia pursed her lips. “I’m guessing you didn’t get to do much research for my dead mom quest then?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A smile creeped over his face. “Well yeah, I couldn’t really solve your case just yet but I know someone who’s willing to help us! Miss Argentina works at reception for your district down in the Netherworld, which means if anyone knows where your ma is, it would be her!” The teen started almost vibrating with excitement. His smile grew. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now, don’t think busting someone out of the Netherworld is an easy task,” he gave her a pointed look, ”The Netherworld is fucking huge, with multiple countries and cities, finding someone specific will be a pain in the ass. Plus we have that whole ‘no one shall return to the world of the living’ rule.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, hold up,” Lydia interupted, “You said ‘countries’?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well yeah, did you think hell was just one huge, empty pit for souls to disappear into? How lame would that be?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lydia raised her eyebrows and nodded. Fair enough. “And how are we going to break the rule?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That will be a tough nut to crack. See, the company enforcing that rule and making sure people don’t break it is the bureau of dead souls, which, incidentally, is where Miss A and I work at. You’d think that would make it easier for us but boy howdy, our boss sucks.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He started fidgeting, suddenly nervous. “Her name’s Juno and she’s a demon and also, uh,” his voice went quiet, almost too quiet to hear, “my mom.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The whole group reacted in unison. “Wait, what!?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He cringed. Lydia, knowing some about his backstory from the first time that they had met, put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “But your mom sucks, you said so yourself. Why would you ever want to work for her?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The demon shrugged her off. “Yeah well, I know that she’s shitty but I like the job!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What he <em>didn't </em>like were the pitying looks he was receiving from the Maitlands. Denise was studying him, probably seeing another life coach patient in him. Lydia looked hurt, frowning and hand still in the air as if he had never moved away. He shook his head. This was exactly why he hated emotions.</span>
  <em>
    <span> Change the topic, change the topic.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“So yeah, a whole lot of problems and not a lot of ways to fix them but,” he clapped his hands (almost dropping his slice of pie in the process) and pushed his anxiety down. His frown was replaced by a cheery smile. “Since you guys summoned me and broke my curse, I can visit the Netherworld whenever I want like any ol’ bio-exorcist!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Polite as ever, Adam raised his hand. “Excuse me, so saying your name three times… it’s not a demon thing? You were actually cursed?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Ma thought it would be a good punishment for having a orgy in her living room that one time, which!” he raised his arms in defence at Barbara's gasp, “I didn’t even initiate! I am the victim here!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Barbara didn’t look convinced. “So people just showed up?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He rolled his eyes. “Not my fault ma left the door unlocked. We used to live in a very shady district.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That shut her up. The frown from before was back on her face. Fuck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aaaaaanyway,” he turned back to Lydia, who looked outright disgusted. Better. He could deal with disgust. “Miss A said she’d send me the location of the bio-exorcist who took your ma’s case and guided her. That’s our first step to figuring out where in the Netherworld she crossed over to narrow down the search.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And after that we only have to find a way to outsmart your mother,” Lydia nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, outsmart one of the most powerful demons this side of the great soul sea.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Silence fell. Beetlejuice finished his pie piece.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What if,” Desiree started, voice gaining momentum as she went, “Your mother never finds out? How hard is it to smuggle someone to the Netherworld or back?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There are sensors that alert security at the gates.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s got to be a way to disable them or turn them off,” Adam mumbled, probably thinking out loud. “Or we find a way to circumvent the gates, find other ways to pass over,” Barbara added with a murmur. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe a distraction would work?” Daphne offered. “Or we activate multiple alarms and hide amidst the chaos!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As much as I appreciate your scheming,” Beetlejuice interrupted, “And I do appreciate your scheming. Especially you two,” he pointed at the ghost couple, “You’re doing great, keep it up, but trust me when I say that my mother will </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span> that I’m behind all the chaos. It’s one thing to ruin her favorite carpet but breaking the laws of the Netherworld? I’d be dead for sure. Like, dead dead.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So what you’re saying is we need a sneaky plan, not a flashy one,” Lydia shrugged. He groaned.  God/ Satan, what was he getting himself into?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nothing’s set in motion yet anyway,” the teen went to give his arm a pet and stopped herself. She gave him a smile instead. “First, we need to find dead mom’s guide, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A long-suffering stare was her answer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure, yeah. They shouldn’t be too far from here if they still work in the same city.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh about that, dead mom didn’t die here. We moved here after she died.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That would’ve been a good thing to know. Wait, didn’t the Maitlands tell him that the Deetz had just moved in way back when? But how was he to know that Lydia’s mom had been with them then. Ugh, time was confusing. Miss A would probably have his ass for that little detail later, and not in the good way either.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not a problem. I can teleport, remember?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But what about the sandworms?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, turns out they only eat ghosts and not demons. Well okay, one of them took a bite out of me once but as you can see,” he struck a pose, “I’m dead and well! We’re friends now, actually.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lydia raised an eyebrow with a small laugh. “You befriended a sandworm?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I called her Sandy!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A familiar glow came from his pocket. He grinned, fishing for the small mirror and opened it without much preamble.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Impeccable timing, Miss A!” That was about all he got out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Lawrence Betelgeuse Shaggoth</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” oh Satan have mercy, she used all three names, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Care to tell me why I needed to figure out that your Emilia Deetz didn’t in fact die in Connecticut, but in god damn New York? Do you realize just how much paperwork I had to go through to find her?!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He winced. “Ah yeah, sorry about that-”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Oh you bet your ass that you will be sorry! Mark my words. You WILL be sorry. I expect lunch everyday for a month at my desk by 1pm.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Maria.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“And none of the cheap shit. I want some gourmet fucking dinner, understand?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course, Maria.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Wonderful! I’m sending you the coordinates right now. Don’t get in trouble.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>And with that she hung up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adam was the one to break the silence, stating what they were all thinking with a snicker.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s got you on a short leash, huh?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Beetlejuice didn’t dignify that with a response.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I know this chapter is a bit dialouge heave but we need that sweet sweet exposition before we can get to the fun stuff!<br/>If this chapter had a name, it would probably be something along the lines of "How Many Names Starting With 'D' Can I Pull Out Of My Ass".</p><p>I'm shooting for weekly updates btw. Depending on how much time I have new chapters should be up on either Saturday or Sunday!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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